the inverts and corals are much more sensitive than the fish are, although i'd think the fish would even be showing signs of stress at these levels... sucks that the LFS is responsible...
Fish doing great, everything else dying!!!! Help!
- Thread starter jkrutch
- Start date
Eeek! Did the fish store hook the ro/di up knowing it was to copper piping? Fish as others have said are a bit more tolerant. Inverts and corals are much more delicate.
i have a new house too (new construction) and the pipes are copper. i thought pretty much all houses are this way..? i've never tested for copper but don't think i've got any in my water.
Get your water stable (in the good range) before adding anything else.
I have a friend who let his LFS do tests for him - they told him his water was "good" every time but he never got the results. I talked him into getting a test kit and doing his own tests. His NitrAtes were at 80. If you have them test, make them write down the results for you.
I will assume you meant 1.025 (if not, then there IS a problem). I would start with 15 minutes of the bag sitting in your tank to adjust the temperature, then a while of adding water from your tank
I use an eye dropper, adding one dropper full every 5 minutes for about a half hour. I then add 3 droppers full every 5 minutes for another half hour. Last I use a turkey baster - one baster full 5 minutes apart - twice. Wait 5 minutes then I'm ready to add them. I don't time it that accurate, just ballpark it.
I have not lost any fish, shrimp, snails or the crab this way.
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Wouldn't a good ro/di unit remove the copper? Which brings up the question of what brand/model ro unit the store hooked him up with...
why not just use regular air line from like an air pump for fish tanks and drip acclimate that way? so you don't have to run back and forth every 5 min. see about that for more details on Dr. Foster and Smith web page. high nitrates didn't kill your snails or corals, not on empact for sure. as of now, the best thing to do is not add anything for a while, at least until you track the killer down. copper does sound like an issue, but it should kill all shrimp, but you said you have one still alive. but there is a toxin in your water for sure, but possibly that shrimp is a hard core and can stand copper. props to his high will to live:headbang2:
1) Because I'm still new to this and haven't got that far yet
2) Sorry, I wasn't suggesting nitrates were the cause, just that I wouldn't count on the LFS to test without at least keeping track of the results. - and yes, I know he said the tests were done in front of him... just saying...
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Ok people....we need to get a 'good' number here.
Is it 1.25 or 1.025.
If it's 1.25, perhaps it's been topping off with salt water or something?
The problem with letting professionals mantain your tank is that things can happen daily, and they come weekly. You really need to learn all the ins/outs so you can handle the daily grind. Point in case.
Anyway, please verify that specific gravity #.
Is it 1.25 or 1.025.
If it's 1.25, perhaps it's been topping off with salt water or something?
The problem with letting professionals mantain your tank is that things can happen daily, and they come weekly. You really need to learn all the ins/outs so you can handle the daily grind. Point in case.
Anyway, please verify that specific gravity #.
1.025...I doubt there is a hydrometer that would measure my typo! I wouldn't be surprised if the nitrate level was a result of the snails dying and not being removed immediately. My tank is tall and reaching the bottom is tough to impossible in many areas. I will have test done for copper today.
I would think the lack of proper acclimation is the main issue affecting the snails dying since my salinity could be much higher than the LFS.
The lone surviving cleaner shrimp and the few hermits that have survived make me doubt the copper theory. On Friday, when they added the 25 now dead turbo snails, they also added 4 small corals and 6 sally lightfoot crabs. The corals are looking pretty bad at this point. The crabs seem to be OK, but it is too soon to tell.
The fact that the crabs are alive at the 48 hour mark might further support the no copper theory. I also forgot to mention one other point. The LFS also put in some horseshoes that have lived.
Too bad the Nitrate levels are so high, otherwise I could test the acclimation theory today.
I need to bring another service company in for a consult. I want their opinion on all aspects of the tank including the filtration, water circulation, lighting, and all other equipment.
Any other suggestions?
I would think the lack of proper acclimation is the main issue affecting the snails dying since my salinity could be much higher than the LFS.
The lone surviving cleaner shrimp and the few hermits that have survived make me doubt the copper theory. On Friday, when they added the 25 now dead turbo snails, they also added 4 small corals and 6 sally lightfoot crabs. The corals are looking pretty bad at this point. The crabs seem to be OK, but it is too soon to tell.
The fact that the crabs are alive at the 48 hour mark might further support the no copper theory. I also forgot to mention one other point. The LFS also put in some horseshoes that have lived.
Too bad the Nitrate levels are so high, otherwise I could test the acclimation theory today.
I need to bring another service company in for a consult. I want their opinion on all aspects of the tank including the filtration, water circulation, lighting, and all other equipment.
Any other suggestions?
Ok people....we need to get a 'good' number here.
Is it 1.25 or 1.025.
If it's 1.25, perhaps it's been topping off with salt water or something?
The problem with letting professionals maintain your tank is that things can happen daily, and they come weekly. You really need to learn all the ins/outs so you can handle the daily grind. Point in case.
Anyway, please verify that specific gravity #.
Point taken, however, that was my rationale for going with a 300g tank and a service. I know that a 300g tank will be more stable than a 50g and therefore, somewhat more resistant to the rapid changes that can occur. As I stated in a previous post, I have a family and business that take much of my time.
With that said, I shouldn't be having these problems even with weekly service. The tank is big enough and old enough that I should be pretty much on auto-pilot barring something catastrophic. Heck, I even have the tank on my generator should we have another hurricane and power loss. I think and hope I bought all the right stuff to give my tank a great chance of success. I simply think I am a victim of entrusting my tank to the wrong service. My testing performed yesterday underscores that point.
Here's what I don't get...every time they add something that dies, they end up giving me credit. It is costing them at this stage of the game. I have definitely put a dent in their margins. I am going to send the owner of the LFS a nice long email about my findings from doing my own testing.
I also need to find another service company.
